Back To School With The Sligo Drama Circle

Sligo Drama Circle returns to the stage of the Hawk’s Well Theatre this week with its new production of Alan Bennett’s “The History Boys”. Set in a fictitious Sheffield Grammar school, the play won three Laurence Olivier Awards in the West end in 2005 as well as winning six Tony Awards on Broadway. It was subsequently made into a film in 2006 using the original stage cast.

The play follows an unruly bunch of sharp, talented, but rough-edged British schoolboys whose worlds are changed forever when two teachers with opposing viewpoints on education engage in a battle to get them into Oxford and Cambridge. Hector (John Caheny) teaches the boys in such an unconventional style that the over-zealous Headmaster (Peter Milne), determines that they are in need of additional tutoring. He recruits a brash, new young teacher, Irwin (played by newcomer Craig White), to challenge the boys in their thinking in order to pass the all-important entrance exam. These two diametrically opposing viewpoints on education are overseen by another history teacher at the school, Mrs. Lintott (Siobhán Terry).

The play blends both comedy and tragedy as a shocking scandal forces all the members of the teaching staff to re-assess their position at the school. For the boys, (Eoin Lawless, Ryan Hehir, Harry Conway, Shane Martin, Pearse Maloney, Brian Mallon, Robert Butler, Seán Mullarkey) their experience over the course of the play will inevitably shape their future lives in one way or another. In a new departure for Sligo Drama Circle, the play combines this strong youth presence with faces familiar to Sligo audiences playing the adult roles. This presents a huge challenge for the Drama Circle to combine the exuberance of youth with the experienced actors. However, under the direction of Máire Hynes, the play promises to be an entertaining night’s theatre.

“The History Boys” runs at the Hawk’s Well Theatre from Wednesday March 23rd to Saturday March 26th nightly at 8pm. Tickets for this play with adult themes are available from the Hawk’s Well Theatre Box Office on 916 1526 / 916 1518 priced at €14 (€10 concessions & OAP’s). Tickets can also be booked online at www.hawkswell.com More information on the production can be seen at www.sligodramacircle.ie